Hello the campfire! I was curious where a feller could find a good oval steel striker. Any suggestions?

Here's another..
Ft. Union Store

Thanks guys. I'll check them out.

There is a guy over on Frontier Folk who makes some nice ones. I haven't bought one from him, but folks seem to buy his strikers and awls at a steady pace. I'm sure he can make you an oval striker.

Pare-

Howdy

I have one of the oval strikers for the Museum of the Fur Trade, as in WBE's link. It is a beauty, and purchasing one of these should help support the MOFT, but mine doesn't spark worth a hoot!

I'm sure there are a number of blacksmiths out there who could make a good one for you, but one of the best of the lot is Allen Schroll of Turkeyfoot Trading. These are fairly priced and nicely finished, and the steels I have gotten from Allen (I think I have five of them) really spark well. I have ordered from Turkeyfoot a couple of times now. When I called in the order by telephone, I had the goods in hand within four days.

I think the MOFT striker is "stamped" out of sheet stock. Some of the oval and "Norse" strikers from overseas also appear to be stamped or cut out of sheet, and in my experience with these, they just don't spark as well as a hammered, blacksmith-made steel. The original oval strikers were formed out of straight stock, bent to shape, and welded. The weld was then "cleaned up" so it was barely visible. Not all of the modern blacksmiths do this neatly, but Allen does.

Good luck making sparks!

Notchy Bob

Whether stamped or smithed, sparks depend on choice of steel and heat treat. Not how they are formed

quote:

Originally posted by WBE:
Whether stamped or smithed, sparks depend on choice of steel and heat treat. Not how they are formed

Absolutely. However, the steels I have which appear to be stamped or cut out of heavy sheet or flat stock just don't spark well. Maybe the steel the makers have chosen is not the best for fire strikers. It could be that they are heat treated en masse in a kiln of some sort, and don't get the individual attention a blacksmith can provide. It may be that I just ended up with a couple of bad'uns. I don't know.

...but your point is well taken.

Notchy Bob

Hey thanks Notchy. This is more in line with what im looking for and two sizes to boot. I definitely want good sparks.

Bear Claw, it sounds like you've probably found what you're looking for, but if you want, I'd be willing to make a striker for you. Just PM me for my e-mail address if you're interested.

~Josh

Hey Josh. That'd be great. I'll PM ya now.

Thank you Woodsman, i'll check them out as well.